What about your data when computer's being repaired?

[bendejo]

2 hours ago, atyclb said:

4 gigabytes or terabytes mr pendejo ?

 

oops!

 

[Lichiyado]

OP, your rig is nearing the end of its lifespan.  5 years is pretty good for a gaming machine.  Also you mentioned you think your i5 isn't up to the task of your new games, and your USB ports have failed.  It's sounding like it could be a motherboard issue.  Throwing a new i7 on the same motherboard will be an expensive gamble. 

 

Trying to upgrade your 5 year old system is just asking for trouble, IMHO.  In addition, you likely have an OEM verson of Windows, rather than a full retail version.  If that's the case, the OEM version is good for ONE computer ONLY, and if you start swapping out significant parts, such as processor, ram, or motherboard, you will possibly get flagged by Microsoft and your OS will no longer be validated.  This can requires a call to Microsoft, if online validation fails, and you might have to explain to a real person what you have done with your system.

 

As one or two folks said here, it might be better for you to start shopping for a new rig, specifically for gaming.  If you build it yourself (it's fun!) with customized parts, it will cost a lot more than if you get a system pre-built.  But it will be your custom system built to your specifications.  And if you are attached to your old tower, you can keep it if you prefer, just swapping out the guts.  Remember though, the switches on an old tower get old too.  You can also have a shop build it for you with customized parts of your choosing.  Usually they'll do this for free, or very cheap, if you buy the parts from them.  

 

If I were you, I'd shop for a new pre-built i7 system with a sh*t ton of high speed ram, the latest dedicated AMD or NVidia chipset video card, a honking big power supply, and a super cooling system (liquid or multiple fans).  Not sure which OS you prefer, but you can get an OEM disk at your favorite computer store.  Or you can go to eBay and get an OEM Windows 10 key code (real and legal) for very cheap.  BTW, some pre-built systems come with Windows 10, but that's an exception, rather than a rule.

 

Throwing your old C drive into the new rig, hoping it will seamlessly start probably won't work, due previously installed drivers being incompatible with your new hardware, requiring you to reinstall the OS anyway, so I recommend a new HD for your new rig.  Sometimes it's good to start fresh.

 

If your tower is big enough, you can install your old hard drives, extract whatever information you need, then retire the old hard drives or use them as backup or data/media storage.

 

While gaming with your awesome new system, don't forget to leave the house every now and then, and breathe some fresh air and get some sun.  Vitamin D deficiency is a real thing with gamers!  ????

 

Edited September 30, 2018 by Lichiyado

[Pepper9187]

You are right to worry, computers are opened books and we all tend to have lots of personal information on it now, passport copy, ID, driving license, private emails and so on.

+200GB of *cough* music.

 

 

What kind of upgrade are you doing ? Hardware upgrade ? CPU / motherboard ? Graphic card ?

Software update / Fix ?

 

In a general way the more pragmatic would be for you to :

1) Physically pull out only your D and E drives

2) Assuming you have a backup, delete all your remaining personal data on your OS (C) drive AND you use a tool like ccleaner / function "wipe drive" => Wipe free space (1 pass or 3 passes)

The tool will re-write / delete data 3 times on all your hard drive empty space.

 

I could tell you there's a flaw with that method but honestly unless you've done real bad shit or you're a spy or someone's with data worth millions on his computer, the technicians won't give shit about trying to recover your data.

 

Low level format as suggested is a slow process and complicated to do on the O.S drive, you need to boot on a USB key tool and blablabla, well not everyone can do that.

Besides it's really a bit over reacting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[elgenon]

16 hours ago, atyclb said:

 

 

precisely

So sad that they have those prejudices.

[Daffy D]

If you are changing your CPU or Motherboard your present system probably won't work anyway.

 

Any backups you have of drive "C" will probably be useless also, except for recovering personal data.

 

A total new install will be required.

 

Take out all your drives and put a blank in as drive "C".

 

[atyclb]

can op post specs of computer here and what the shop will do?

[howto]

My advice clean the desktop.

Fans on CPU + GPU and their heatsinks and case fans.

And the 3 flaky usb ports (common).

Lots of youtube vids, you can DIY.

 

Do that then test and record the thermals.

Both CPU and GPU.

Lots of free apps available to stress the CPU/GPU.

 

Wait on the upgrade for awhile.

Note, the CPU can be upgraded without issue yet I don't see the point.

Perhaps upgrade the GPU.

Small steps please.

Note, do not change the motherboard.

 

Leaving your system with a Thai tech, don't.

Do remove your discs.

You can (and should) learn to DIY.

-- Howto

 

 

 

[Reluctant Traveller]

Thanks howto ????      that is exactly the first aid that I have already done.

I'm using an app called  "CAM" to monitor the CPU and GPU ( unfortunately it won't let me take a screen shot to show people)

[Daffy D]

6 hours ago, Reluctant Traveller said:

( unfortunately it won't let me take a screen shot to show people)

Find and press the "Print Screen" key on your keyboard.

 

This will save a snapshot of your screen to the clipboard.

 

Open "Paint" or any other graphic program you have and "Save" the snapshot to it.

 

[Pepper9187]

Tell me about the heat !

 

I play PUBG and the room where my computer is has no aircon, it's like 45degres in there when i play the game !

 

The question is, your CPU is heating but are you actually "CPU limited" in game ?

 

Lots of people think having a newer CPU will improve the performances in games, not at all actually, just few FPS,

A good article to understand the CPU limited urban legend :

https://www.techspot.com/article/1532-pubg-cpu-benchmarks/

 

Ex in their test your CPU would have close performances to the i3 8100.

 

Change your graphic card only at first and see how it does.

Just careful about your power supply, new graphic cards can eat a lot of power.

 

 

Now, if you got the money, change everything !

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2018 by Pepper9187

[bendejo]

OP: I would wonder if the motherboard was up to the capabilities of the new CPU.  It could turn out the new CPU doesn't make much notable difference, and this upgrade is more or less a waste of energy.

Also, if the upgrade results in problems your tech guy can just shrug it off as YOUR problem: the CPU he sold you is fine, he can pull it out of your system, plug it into another and show you just how well it works -- the problem is in the equipment he didn't sell you.  Been there...

Lichiyado's post above has the right idea.

 

The tech malls (like Pranthip and Fortune Town) have shops that build to order, just check off the items you want from the menu.  Of course don't do this on the spot, take it home and do it at your own pace, researching as you need etc.

 

 

[Reluctant Traveller]

On 10/1/2018 at 9:50 AM, atyclb said:

can op post specs of computer here and what the shop will do?

cpu   -   Intel  i5 4670k                     
mobo -  AsRock  Z87 Extreme 6      
gpu  -   Nvidia GTX 780                 
hdd  -   WD Blue 1Tb   x2                    
ssd  -   Samsung 840 evo 250Gb    
psu  -  Raider FSP 790 750w           
ram -   8gb                            
Windows 7 Home - Basic.   

All assembled by JIB March 2014   

My problems = The bank of 4x 3.0 usb connections will work only with small usb sticks+keyboard+mouse but won't recognise 500gb/1tb (I've done the Youtube first aid stuff- only as far as I trust myself)
Also they won't eject cleanly (I have to wait until power off to pull the usb drives)

The overheating CPU may need replacing if I want to continue with newer games.

I'm in two minds about it all now !  ????

 

[atyclb]

6 hours ago, Reluctant Traveller said:

cpu   -   Intel  i5 4670k                     
mobo -  AsRock  Z87 Extreme 6      
gpu  -   Nvidia GTX 780                 
hdd  -   WD Blue 1Tb   x2                    
ssd  -   Samsung 840 evo 250Gb    
psu  -  Raider FSP 790 750w           
ram -   8gb                            
Windows 7 Home - Basic.   

All assembled by JIB March 2014   

My problems = The bank of 4x 3.0 usb connections will work only with small usb sticks+keyboard+mouse but won't recognise 500gb/1tb (I've done the Youtube first aid stuff- only as far as I trust myself)
Also they won't eject cleanly (I have to wait until power off to pull the usb drives)

The overheating CPU may need replacing if I want to continue with newer games.

I'm in two minds about it all now !  ????

 

 

 

try a simple test that will tell you if you have a hardware problem or non hardware.

 

boot off of a linux live dvd.  ubuntu is pretty good.  ubuntu is free. here is download link . http://releases.ubuntu.com/18.04.1/ubuntu-18.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso?_ga=2.53082856.1731940501.1538549416-846176360.1535005531

 

burn it to a dvd . then with the dvd in your drive restart computer but choose to boot dvd drive.   you can either do this by holding F11 key down as soon as you restart. a menu with boot options should appear. choose dvd drive . may have option of #uefi dvd . or #non uefi.  try either or.  when you get to ubuntu screen choose "live" this will just run ubuntu but not install it.  once ubuntu live is loaded and running test your usb drives. if your usb drives are now working fine, you probably have an issue with windows operating system and or motherboard bios with windows.  if usb in ubuntu has a problem then it is likely hardware malfunction or also can be bios.   motherboard bios can easily be updated and if that is causing you problems then once updated you shoud see normal usb function in windows. could also be windows usb support got corrupted in which case a fresh install is the solution.

 

the specs of your box are pretty good.

 

 

have you replaced the thermal grease on cpu?  if thermal grease dries up may cause temp issues.  overclocking cpu will also make it get hot. check bios setting and see if you are overclocked or not. if yes, then the solution is dont overclock or get better cooling device

Edited October 3, 2018 by atyclb

[Pepper9187]

I had this a similar USB issue on a previous conf.

The motherboard could not deliver enough power for large USB HDDs, rest was just fine.

 

For cooling, get a Noctua cooler, expensive but the bests. 

Get a better graphic card if needs to.

If you can't fix your USB you can think of buying a PCIe card :https://www.invadeit.co.th/product/computer-accessories/orico/2-ports-usb-3-0-20-pin-internal-pcie-card-pvu3-2o2i-p028434/

You would have 2 back USB ports + 2 internal USB ports.

[atyclb]

28 minutes ago, Pepper9187 said:

I had this a similar USB issue on a previous conf.

The motherboard could not deliver enough power for large USB HDDs, rest was just fine.

 

For cooling, get a Noctua cooler, expensive but the bests. 

Get a better graphic card if needs to.

If you can't fix your USB you can think of buying a PCIe card :https://www.invadeit.co.th/product/computer-accessories/orico/2-ports-usb-3-0-20-pin-internal-pcie-card-pvu3-2o2i-p028434/

You would have 2 back USB ports + 2 internal USB ports.

 

 

good point about usb power demand.  can try an adapter that adds external power to usb drive in addition to usb mb current.  if it a power issue will an add in pci usb card have more power?

 

the simple and free test with live ubuntu will give much insight

Edited October 3, 2018 by atyclb

[Pepper9187]

1 hour ago, atyclb said:

 

 

good point about usb power demand.  can try an adapter that adds external power to usb drive in addition to usb mb current.  if it a power issue will an add in pci usb card have more power?

 

the simple and free test with live ubuntu will give much insight

 

Yep it will have all the power needed, you have to plug it to the PSU 5V (the same one as for HDD)

 

[howto]

With all due respect, adding that pcie card is not the best solution.

One would not be able to boot from any device attached to it.

I will spare you the details as to why. (the BIOS won't see it)

A more elegant solution is a 5~6 port powered USB hub.

A decent Superspeed hub, plug into a known good port.

One can boot a thumb or a dvd from it.

 

Here is a link for a standalone app to see the entire USB Device Tree

It is safe

http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtreeview_e.html

V3.2.1 (06 May 2017)
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/files/usbtreeview.zip

 

[SheungWan]

On 9/29/2018 at 6:03 AM, ThaidDown said:

I would be more worried about personal data, usernames, passwords etc,

Agreed.

[damole]

https://www.techspot.com/article/1532-pubg-cpu-benchmarks/

 

The last paragraph of the conclusion suggests your CPU will suffice for now if properly cooled.  I just upgraded my gaming PC from a GTX760 to a GTX1060 earlier this year and it's still paired with a Core i5-2500K.  For the games I play, Dirt 4/Dirt Rally/Grid Autosport/PES the combo is fine at 1080p. 

I just got given free copies of BF1 and PUBG with my new laptop as part of Intel's software offer and I noticed BF1 does max out the CPU.  Still looks pretty good on my TV though.

I will upgrade the CPU later in the year but it means motherboard and RAM too so I've been putting it off as long as possible.

[Lichiyado]

On 10/3/2018 at 7:18 AM, Reluctant Traveller said:

cpu   -   Intel  i5 4670k                     
mobo -  AsRock  Z87 Extreme 6      
gpu  -   Nvidia GTX 780                 
hdd  -   WD Blue 1Tb   x2                    
ssd  -   Samsung 840 evo 250Gb    
psu  -  Raider FSP 790 750w           
ram -   8gb                            
Windows 7 Home - Basic.   

All assembled by JIB March 2014   

My problems = The bank of 4x 3.0 usb connections will work only with small usb sticks+keyboard+mouse but won't recognise 500gb/1tb (I've done the Youtube first aid stuff- only as far as I trust myself)
Also they won't eject cleanly (I have to wait until power off to pull the usb drives)

The overheating CPU may need replacing if I want to continue with newer games.

I'm in two minds about it all now !  ????

Better two minds than one or less, OP.  I'm surprised you have only two minds about all this, given the many suggestions you've received here, many of them quite sound.  Upon checking the specs of your current rig, I can see why you might want hold onto it and go the upgrade path.  This is a solid high-end system, and a capable gamer that probably cost you a pretty penny back in the day.  Now that I've seen your specs, I might be tempted to forego my original suggestion of buying a new rig and try for the upgrade to squeeze in a couple extra years.  But I don't think you're going to get much mileage from a new CPU unless your i5 is truly blown (I don't think it is).

 

Regarding your overheating CPU.  Yes, as some have mentioned, use a CPU temp measuring and alarm program.  Also, have you removed your CPU fan and tried reapplying the thermal compound between the CPU and the fan?  And was it done properly?  I've found this is the most common problem with an overheating CPU.  The thermal compound deteriorates with time.  And I've found Thai technicians often slather on the (cheap) thermal compound like peanut butter on toast.  Not good.  You can find instructions on applying new thermal compound on YouTube.  I prefer Arctic Silver, but everyone has their favorite.  If your fan is dinky, then go out and get the biggest fan your tower can support.  There are some suggestions on good fans and cooling systems in this thread.

 

The USB3 ports should be able to recognize and power your external hard drives with no trouble.  Have you tried a different USB HD to see if powers up and loads?  If it does, then It sounds like your troublesome USB HD or the HD controller built into the enclosure of the USB HD is kaput.  Can you pop the HD out of the USB enclosure and try to mount it into your tower using a SATA cable?  If it works then that would point to a kaput USB HD Controller in your HD enclosure.  A new enclosure is pretty cheap and would be suitable for your upgrade/repair path.

 

If you can't get any USB HD to power up and load then you have to determine if you have a software or hardware issue.  Some folks here mentioned some programs to use to test your hardware, but I'm not sure they would work in your case.  If you're having trouble ejecting ALL USB devices, then uninstalling your USB drivers and letting Win 7 reinstall them could provide a fix.  Or not.  A reinstall of the Win 7 OS is an option...essentially zeroing out your current system and starting from scratch.  This would reassign system resources that could have been mucked with or corrupted in a 4 year old system.  A pain, but worth consideration.

 

If you have a spare formatted HD and a Win 7 CD disk, you can pull your current C drive, install the spare HD, and do a basic installation on the spare HD (without a Microsoft validation attempt) and see if you can get your USB ports working.  If they work, then you know something is screwed up with your OS and the programs you've installed over the years.

 

If none of this works, then you have a hardware issue.  And since the USB ports are built onto the motherboard, then it's likely a failing motherboard.  You could replace it, and use your current tower, CPU, RAM, Video card, and power supply.

 

Now, please tell me your system is running at 64 bit?  With Win 7 Home Basic from 4 or 5 years ago, I wonder.  If it's running at 32 bit, your RAM is going to waste.  32 bit Windows can only recognize and use about 3.5 GB of your RAM.  If this is the case, I would certainly start with a fresh OS install and go 64 bit.  A 64 bit OS can use as much RAM as you throw at it, depending on the OS, up to 512 GB.  Windows 7 Home Basic 64 bit can handle 8 GB RAM max.

 

Or...forget everything I've said and get a new rig!

 

Forgive me for any redundancy or assumptions in my post.  It's late and I'm tired, and I didn't want to go back through the entire thread for a read.  Lots of options for troubleshooting.  At this point it's a process of elimination that all geeks go through when trying to repair a rig.

 

Keep us posted on your many minds, would you OP?  We're all curious about which mind is going to win.

 

[Reluctant Traveller]

10 hours ago, damole said:

https://www.techspot.com/article/1532-pubg-cpu-benchmarks/

 

The last paragraph of the conclusion suggests your CPU will suffice for now if properly cooled.  I just upgraded my gaming PC from a GTX760 to a GTX1060 earlier this year and it's still paired with a Core i5-2500K.  For the games I play, Dirt 4/Dirt Rally/Grid Autosport/PES the combo is fine at 1080p. 

I just got given free copies of BF1 and PUBG with my new laptop as part of Intel's software offer and I noticed BF1 does max out the CPU.  Still looks pretty good on my TV though.

I will upgrade the CPU later in the year but it means motherboard and RAM too so I've been putting it off as long as possible.

Good info, I should mention the only game that is causing a problem is FarCry 5.

After 5 minutes the CPU goes over 100c ???? 

[Reluctant Traveller]

8 hours ago, Lichiyado said:

Better two minds than one or less, OP.  I'm surprised you have only two minds about all this, given the many suggestions you've received here, many of them quite sound.  Upon checking the specs of your current rig, I can see why you might want hold onto it and go the upgrade path.  This is a solid high-end system, and a capable gamer that probably cost you a pretty penny back in the day.  Now that I've seen your specs, I might be tempted to forego my original suggestion of buying a new rig and try for the upgrade to squeeze in a couple extra years.  But I don't think you're going to get much mileage from a new CPU unless your i5 is truly blown (I don't think it is).

 

Regarding your overheating CPU.  Yes, as some have mentioned, use a CPU temp measuring and alarm program.  Also, have you removed your CPU fan and tried reapplying the thermal compound between the CPU and the fan?  And was it done properly?  I've found this is the most common problem with an overheating CPU.  The thermal compound deteriorates with time.  And I've found Thai technicians often slather on the (cheap) thermal compound like peanut butter on toast.  Not good.  You can find instructions on applying new thermal compound on YouTube.  I prefer Arctic Silver, but everyone has their favorite.  If your fan is dinky, then go out and get the biggest fan your tower can support.  There are some suggestions on good fans and cooling systems in this thread.

 

The USB3 ports should be able to recognize and power your external hard drives with no trouble.  Have you tried a different USB HD to see if powers up and loads?  If it does, then It sounds like your troublesome USB HD or the HD controller built into the enclosure of the USB HD is kaput.  Can you pop the HD out of the USB enclosure and try to mount it into your tower using a SATA cable?  If it works then that would point to a kaput USB HD Controller in your HD enclosure.  A new enclosure is pretty cheap and would be suitable for your upgrade/repair path.

 

If you can't get any USB HD to power up and load then you have to determine if you have a software or hardware issue.  Some folks here mentioned some programs to use to test your hardware, but I'm not sure they would work in your case.  If you're having trouble ejecting ALL USB devices, then uninstalling your USB drivers and letting Win 7 reinstall them could provide a fix.  Or not.  A reinstall of the Win 7 OS is an option...essentially zeroing out your current system and starting from scratch.  This would reassign system resources that could have been mucked with or corrupted in a 4 year old system.  A pain, but worth consideration.

 

If you have a spare formatted HD and a Win 7 CD disk, you can pull your current C drive, install the spare HD, and do a basic installation on the spare HD (without a Microsoft validation attempt) and see if you can get your USB ports working.  If they work, then you know something is screwed up with your OS and the programs you've installed over the years.

 

If none of this works, then you have a hardware issue.  And since the USB ports are built onto the motherboard, then it's likely a failing motherboard.  You could replace it, and use your current tower, CPU, RAM, Video card, and power supply.

 

Now, please tell me your system is running at 64 bit?  With Win 7 Home Basic from 4 or 5 years ago, I wonder.  If it's running at 32 bit, your RAM is going to waste.  32 bit Windows can only recognize and use about 3.5 GB of your RAM.  If this is the case, I would certainly start with a fresh OS install and go 64 bit.  A 64 bit OS can use as much RAM as you throw at it, depending on the OS, up to 512 GB.  Windows 7 Home Basic 64 bit can handle 8 GB RAM max.

 

Or...forget everything I've said and get a new rig!

 

Forgive me for any redundancy or assumptions in my post.  It's late and I'm tired, and I didn't want to go back through the entire thread for a read.  Lots of options for troubleshooting.  At this point it's a process of elimination that all geeks go through when trying to repair a rig.

 

Keep us posted on your many minds, would you OP?  We're all curious about which mind is going to win.

 

Thanks for taking the time and using a language many can follow - also good humour.
 

I could justify replacing the whole thing as it's my time bandit.
However with youtube and the terrific support on here, a lot of the tech is slightly demystified and folk get encouraged to 'have a go' .
Being retired and the strong baht has gifted me a patience.

[damole]

Try downloading Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility and running the benchmark.  You can see whether your CPU is being throttled or limited by power or temperature.

 

Next I would try Cinebench and see what results you get.  It will show you your CPU result in a table so you can see if it is peforming below avergae.

[Pepper9187]

I think it's pretty obvious why the OP don't want his data to be seen.

 

 

It's because you have that game installed on your computer, we all know it, you dirty dog !!

How embarrassing !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[atyclb]

On 10/5/2018 at 6:17 AM, howto said:

With all due respect, adding that pcie card is not the best solution.

One would not be able to boot from any device attached to it.

I will spare you the details as to why. (the BIOS won't see it)

A more elegant solution is a 5~6 port powered USB hub.

A decent Superspeed hub, plug into a known good port.

One can boot a thumb or a dvd from it.

 

Here is a link for a standalone app to see the entire USB Device Tree

It is safe

http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtreeview_e.html

V3.2.1 (06 May 2017)
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/files/usbtreeview.zip

 

 

 

many/some pcie usb cards do support booting 

Edited October 7, 2018 by atyclb

[Lichiyado]

On 10/6/2018 at 9:23 AM, Reluctant Traveller said:

Thanks for taking the time and using a language many can follow - also good humour.
 

I could justify replacing the whole thing as it's my time bandit.
However with youtube and the terrific support on here, a lot of the tech is slightly demystified and folk get encouraged to 'have a go' .
Being retired and the strong baht has gifted me a patience.

My pleasure, OP.  As a fellow retired person who used to own a full service small office/home office consulting business in Hawaii, I have passion for all tech.  And now it's a consuming hobby.  I highly recommend following the hobbyist path and do as much of the work yourself as you can.  It's very gratifying to get stuff working properly on your own, keeps your fingers and joints nimble, and it keeps your mind sharp.  With YouTube, tons of tech websites, installation manuals that nobody reads, and forums such as this, you can become proficient in no time...and offer your wizened services to your tech clueless buddies!  Good luck to you!

 

P.S.  I never commented about your original post topic "What about your data when your computers are being repaired".  If you do everything yourself, no need to even think about it.  If you do need to take it into a shop, pull all your hard drives.  You don't want a stranger sniffing your personal stuff.  They have spare hard drives and operating systems in the shop they can use to see if your hardware and their repair/upgrade is functioning properly.

 

But please, for your dignity and ours, please delete the "My Little Pony" game from your rig.  It's an embarrassment to all of us!  ????